Analysis Of Pico Iyer's 'Where Worlds Collide'

In the short story “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie the theme that is represented in each grade is racism. Throughout Alexie’s life he experiences more and more accounts of racism in school. Also, Alexie experiences levels of hardship as he gets older. Thus, the story’s theme statement could be summarized that racism enables hardship in one's life.

The opening paragraph acknowledges an ethnic stereotype of Indians. Before even introducing the fact that he was an Indian, he pointed out the fact that he couldn’t read, and then added the details of the financial difficulties his family faced living on the reservation. The information also challenges the stereotype by always providing an example to how his family would make it through the tough times. He says that they were poor by most standards, but his parents would find a minimum-wage job to make them middle-class by reservation standards.

The way someone is raised, the things they experience, and their economic status affects their outlook on the world and the people in it. I would describe myself as an American woman raised in a middle class family in Southern Georgia. This is important to note because being raised in the South has embedded a different outlook on life than those raised in the North. Growing up, my parents taught me to believe that no one is better than anyone else and that you shouldn’t treat people differently especially based on something they cannot control. My own experiences and culture have lead me to interpret other people’s behavior differently from my own such as believing something is right while in another culture that behavior could be frowned upon.

She claims, “It’s supposed to be white with white, black with black, man with woman and all of that. That’s what the KKK stands for” (1). She firmly believes individuals cannot move out of their race. The predicament is that her son will grasp her narrow views of the world. When he learns his mother’s views, the vicious cycle of closed-minded individuals will continue. The little boy’s mother learned her views from her parents and now she is going to teach her son the same views she has grown accustom

Throughout the novel Native Son by Richard Wright, Bigger struggles with his fear of the white community because of the segregation and violence that has been inflicted upon him as a part of the black community. Bigger’s whole life he has lived within Chicago’s ‘black belt’, the only area of the city where relators will rent houses to people of color. Likewise, Bigger has been denied access to clean housing conditions, quality education, and well-paying job opportunities. By having two distinct sides in the visual that is representing Bigger’s struggle to live a life free of fear, the segregation and the distinct difference between the races that is present in society and effects Bigger’s day to day life is being displayed. In addition, skin

A issue that we as people failed to overcome is the issue of ending racism.This is a problem that is still remaining no matter how hard we try to make sure that everyone is equal.Racism is something we have all witnessed somehow and somewhere.It has been around so long we should have been able to overcome it as our species developed, but contact with those of whom we are afraid of often lead to disputes, which, in time, is what caused racism to transform from people simply disliking each other, to the permanent and indestructible foundation of common racism and prejudice.Parents play a big role in racism because kids learn from them and if they don’t teach them at a young age that everyone is equal, no matter what color they are.They will never

Tom’s racist attitude towards minorities mainly results from his upbringing. Many people are not born racist; instead, they were raised in an environment that allows and encourages racism. When Tom expresses his view that the “dominant race” must control things, he is referring to whites controlling the actions of minorities. As an upper class elitist that is also white, Tom also believes that he should control others. This type of thinking, although obsolete from government policy today, is still relevant in many people. Throughout America, many people still express racist views, mainly because of their environment and their upbringing. As a result, many people use their racist thoughts to support people who will express their views when in power. For example, in the current presidential election, some candidates are gaining the support of people who still express racist attitudes. Although many people in America are arguing that racism is dead in the country, the support of racist candidates prove that racism is still prevalent in society. Because these thoughts resonate throughout America and affect many Americans, the novel is still a great example of the “Great American Novel.”

In his novel, Wright says white people are blind to the individuality of the blacks, writing, "to Bigger and his kind white people were not really people; they were a sort of great natural force, like a stormy sky looming overhead, or like a deep swirling river stretching suddenly at one 's feet in the dark. As long as he and his black folks did not go beyond certainlimits, there was no need to fear that white force. But whether they feared it or not, each and every day of their lives they lived with it; even when words did not sound its name, they acknowledged its reality. As long as they lived here in this prescribed corner of the city, they paid mute tribute to it" (Wright 114). To exemplify this notion, during Native Son, Bigger also often, and somewhat justifiably, complains about the suffering he endures because of the domineering white society. He feels enclosed and crowded in the Black Belt, "the African-American internment camp of 1950s Chicago" (Collier-Thomas, page 273). "Forced to pay higher in housing, transportation, and other areas, blacks often worked harder and longer hours that quickly broke their backs and spirits" (Collier-Thomas

Growing up I didn’t follow a culture. So, a culture wasn’t really a factor that influenced my perspective on others and the world. The things that influenced my perspectives would be the music I listen to because it changes the way I look at certain things after I hear about it in a song. Another thing that changes my perspectives are the sports I play because it changes how I may look at people who are in different sports than I am or the same sport that I am. The last thing would be the environment you live in because when I lived in the country I looked at the world differently than what I do now that I live in the city.

After reading the novel, Native Son, I realized that the author , Richard Wright, was trying to aggrandize a lesson in the story of the blindness caused by racism and stereotypes on both oppressed and the oppressor. In the beginning of the story, he put Bigger in a position like an animal trapped in a cage; with no hope or freedom as pop culture and even his mother dehumanize him as nothing but sullen. Such negative actions to Bigger, the main character, made me side for him even though I knew his fate was already grim and already predicted. Almost like the play," Romeo and Juliet", Wright made clear of tragedy, but like Shakespeare, he showed the reader the actions and even thinking that leads to the main action of the story. At

As a result of the racist ways I was taught, and my inability to show the elders in my family the error of their ways, I have formed the opinion that parents often do not teach their children to respect and be kind to all living people, but as time goes on, people become more and more tolerant of diversity. Due to this, every generation’s parents are much more unrightfully prejudice than their children are when they become parents. That is why I have hope in this country’s future; I have faith that at some point in the future diversity will be looked at as a positive thing, and one will not be judged based on where their ancestors hailed from.

I have been influenced by hearing what other people have to say. I hear a lot of moral arguments and some I agree with and others I don't. But everything I hear helps me think and come up with what I believe is right and wrong. I think the most influential things are music, tv, and social media.When you listen to music it gives a certain message and that message could be a certain belief and the message doesn't have to be a belief, but it could still have a certain belief in the song. Television also has a certain viewpoint point, people probably don't notice but when you know what the views are it's easier to notice it. Social Media contains many beliefs, most people get news and other information from Social Media. Social Media contains many

In summation, we may be influenced by parents, peers, and surroundings, but it is up to us to make the choice on how they influence. Parents may feed you unhealthy food when you’re a child, but once you mature it is up to you to make the choice to eat healthy food. Peers may influence you by asking you to do drugs, smoke, and drink, but it is up to you to make the choice to say no to them. The media, social or otherwise, may influence you to socialize face to face with your friends, but it is up to you to make the choice to make that phone call to hang out with those friends. Influences, good and bad, are everywhere. But it is the choices we make through thinking, and not imitating, that defines

[Ali] Racism is one of the biggest problems throughout America today. Constantly, words and actions are being used to harass people based on their race. Throughout the letter, An Indian Father’s Plea, the narrator expresses his concerns with his son, Wind Wolf, and the environment of his classroom. He goes into depth about his son’s culture and why it is so important, hoping that Wind Wolf’s teacher will apply this information to his classroom. Towards the end of the letter, Wind Wolf’s father makes a valuable point. “[Wind Wolf] is caught between two worlds, torn by two distinct cultural systems” (Lake 98). Wind Wolf, only 5 years old, is all of a sudden having to deal with a constant change in his environment. He doesn’t know how to act at school because he is only familiar

When a child is born, it is not up to him or her what race, gender, or social class he’s born into. Yet, he is treated and nurtured based on these physical attributes that he had no control over. A male African American living in the outer boroughs is arguably given some of the harshest stereotypes and lowest expectations for success. Knowing this, Wright created Bigger Thomas, the main character in Native Son. Bigger lives in a one bedroom apartment with his family and works as a driver for a family on the white side of Chicago. Bigger is surrounded by people telling him that he will not succeed and that he will end up a criminal as “every” person sharing his physical appearance has. This constant doubt causes Bigger to lose faith in